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The impact of Low Emission Zones on particulate matter concentration and public health

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  • Malina, Christiane
  • Scheffler, Frauke

Abstract

A common policy for reducing particulate matter concentrations in the European Union is the introduction of Low Emission Zones (LEZs), which may only be entered by vehicles meeting predefined emission standards. This paper examines the effectiveness of LEZs for reducing PM10 levels in urban areas in Germany and quantifies the associated health impacts from reduced air pollution within the zones. We employ a fixed effects panel data model for daily observations of PM10 concentrations from 2000 to 2009 and control, inter alia, for local meteorological conditions and traffic volume. We apply the regression outputs to a concentration response function derived from the epidemiological literature to calculate associated health impacts of the introduction of LEZs in 25 German cities with 3.96 million inhabitants. Associated uncertainties are accounted for in Monte-Carlo simulations. It is found that the introduction of LEZs has significantly reduced inner city PM10 levels. We estimate the total mean health impact from reduced air pollution in 2010 due to the introduction of stage 1 zones to be ∼760 million EUR in the 25 LEZ cities in the sample, whereas total mean health benefits are ∼2.4 billion EUR for the more stringent stage 2 zones when applied in the same cities.

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  • Malina, Christiane & Scheffler, Frauke, 2015. "The impact of Low Emission Zones on particulate matter concentration and public health," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 372-385.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:77:y:2015:i:c:p:372-385
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2015.04.029
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    12. Pestel, Nico & Wozny, Florian, 2019. "Low Emission Zones for Better Health: Evidence from German Hospitals," IZA Discussion Papers 12545, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Andrea Pronti & Julio Berbel, 2020. "Analysis of the impact of a volumetric tariff for irrigation in Northern Italy through the “Inverse DiD†approach," SEEDS Working Papers 1320, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Jul 2020.
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    15. Perera, Loshaka & Thompson, Russell G. & Wu, Wenyan, 2021. "Toll and subsidy for freight vehicles on urban roads: A policy decision for City Logistics," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
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    17. Zimmer, Anne & Koch, Nicolas, 2017. "Fuel consumption dynamics in Europe: Tax reform implications for air pollution and carbon emissions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 22-50.
    18. Bernardo, Valeria & Fageda, Xavier & Flores-Fillol, Ricardo, 2021. "Pollution and congestion in urban areas: The effects of low emission zones," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 26.
    19. Hannah Klauber & Felix Holub & Nicolas Koch & Nico Pestel & Nolan Ritter & Alexander Rohlf, 2024. "Killing Prescriptions Softly: Low Emission Zones and Child Health from Birth to School," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 220-248, May.
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    22. Malina, Christiane, 2016. "The environmental impact of vehicle circulation tax reform in Germany," CAWM Discussion Papers 86, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    23. Ye, Jingjing & Qin, Zhilong & Chen, Xiaoguang, 2021. "Adapt by adopting cleaner vehicles? — Evidence from a low-emission zone policy in Nanchang, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    24. Gruhl, Henri & Volkhausen, Nicolas & Pestel, Nico & aus dem Moore, Nils, 2022. "Air pollution and the housing market: Evidence from Germany's Low Emission Zones," Ruhr Economic Papers 977, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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